Pulling machine



F. H. HALL PULLING MACHINE 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet L Filed April 13 wroz'.

Fra/wEHaZZ.

Aug. 26 1924. 1,506,579

F. H. HALL PULLING MACHINE Filed April 15 1923 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 PatentedA11 26, 1924.

UNITED STATES FRANK H. HALL, or seamen-n, PENNSYLVANIA.

PULLING MACHINE.

Application filed April 13, R 23. Serial No. 631,894.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FRANK H. HALL, a citizenof United States, and a resident of Bradford, in the county of McKeanand State of Pennsylvania, have invented a Pulling Machine, of which thefollowing is a full and complete specification.

My invention is an improvement in pulling machines and relates moreespecially to a machine for special use at an oil well, as for instancein pulling out well tubings and other parts of the well, being usable inconnection with certain parts of the pumping rig shown and described inmy application for patent filed March 9, 1923, Serial No. 624,036.

The primary object of my invention is to provide acompact, powerful andeasily operated pulling machine that may be readily placed in positionat the well and operated by any of the conventional types of enginesemployed in operating the wellpump, in the present instance applying thepower to awinding drum through the intervention of a ratchet and pawlmechanism with interposed operating means therefor.

A further object of my invention is to provide a pulling machine of thischaracter in which the power applied to the windingdrum may be variedwith respect to the strokes communicated to the machine from theordinary pumping engine, whereby an ar angemerit for the application ofthe maximum pulling power may be employed in withdrawingheavy parts fromthe well and a different arrangement used providing a lesser power but aquicker rotation of the winding-drum to expedite the operation ofpulling .out lighter parts.

Another object of my invention is to provide a mechanism for rotatingthe winding drum in which the operation thereof may be effected throughthe direct connection of the piston rod of a steam-engine or by theconnection of a pull line whichever may be more convenient or desirable.

Vith these principal objects in view my invention contemplates providinga portable pulling machine for com'erting a reciprocating motion into arotary motion applied to a drum upon which the pulling cable is wound,comprising a suitable frame, a large ratchet-wheel mounted therein androtated continuously or intermittently by opposite pawls each carried byan independent vibrating arm, and means for operating said vibratoryarms through the medium of the pinup-engine; all as hereinafter fullydescribed and more specifically set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a pullingmachine constructed in accordance with my invention and showing itapplied for use at an oil well.

Fig. 2 is a front end elevation of the machine.

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the ratchet-wheel, winding-drum andcooperating parts on the main. shaft.

Fig. 4 is a view illustrat'ng the operation of the pawl and ratchetmechanism for a continuous operation of the ratchet-wheel.

Fig. 5 is a similar view with the parts arranged for an intermittentrotation of the ratchet-wheel.

Fig. 6 is a detail transverse sectional view through the clutchmechanism.

In the present instance I have shown my pulling machine applied to anoil well having the usual casing head 10 surrounded by a platforn'i 11,and as the machine will be employed principally for drawing parts out ofthe well, such as the sucker-rod, pump, well-tubing, &c., it isdesirable to have the cable 12 from the winding-drum pass over a sheave13 located above and perpendicular to the well or opening through thecasing head, and consequently I prefer to support this sheave on thepivoted uprights 14: forming part of the pumping rig embodied in myprior application for patent hereinabove referred to.

In carrying out my invention the mechanism comprising the pullingmachine is supported in a. rectangular frame made up of end pieces 1515'and longitudinal side pieces 16 16, with uprights 17 1'? near thefront end of the frame connected at their upper ends by a cross-piece 18and suitably braced by rods 19; additional uprights Q0 20 braced by rods21 being located at the rear end of the frame when what is termed adonkey pump-engine is employed. The. frame with the pulling mechanismhereinafter described rests upon the platform 11 in convenient proximityto the casing head 10 of the well, and in order that the machine may beremoved from the platform when not inv use, or for use elsewhere, thesaid frame is not permanently fastened to the platform but of course maybe temporar-ily secured thereto if desired.

It will be noted by reference to Fig. 2 that the connected uprights 1717 are supported at their lower ends upon a transverse bar 22, and arespaced beyond the sides of the supporting frame by collars 23 and 24,and it will be also apparent, hereinafter, that the machine may bereadily taken apart, if desired, for more convenient transportat'ion.

Bearing at its ends in the uprights 1'7 17 is a rotatable main shaft 25upon which is mounted a winding-drum 26, said winding-drum beingrotatable with the shaft and therefore fixed thereto, as for instance bykey '27, and to provide for retarding rotation of the winding-drum, whenrequired, there is a brake-wheel 28 formed integrally therewith overwhich passes a brake-band 29 fastened at one endto the collar 23 and atthe other end to a crankshaft 3O mounted in the uprights 17 and providedwith an :operating handle 31. Also mounted on the main shaft 25, butloosely, and adjoining the winding-drum is .a sleeve 32 held in placeagainst slidable movement by a collar 33 fixed to said shaft, and thissleeve has formed at one end-next the windingdruman annular 'flange 32,while on the other end is fixed by pin 34 one member, .35, of a slidingclutch, said flange and clutchmember being spaced apart that the sleevemay receive certain parts hereinafter referred to. The clutch is for thepurpose of connecting the sleeve rotatably to the shaft, and thereforethere is .a slidab'le member 36 on the shaft cooperating with 'theaforesaid fixed member on the sleeve, the sliding member being connectedfor rotation with the shaft by a pin 37 projecting from the latter towork in .a longitudinal slot 38 in the reduced outer portion of saidsliding member. This is an ordinary form of clutch with .intermeshing:teeth, preferably ratchetteeth as shown, whereby when said teeth are inengagement with each other the sleeve will be connected to the shaft tocommunicate the rotatable motion of said sleeve'to said shaft andwinding-drum fixed thereon,

and in the present "instance 'motion is imparted to the sleeve throughthe med? um of the ratchet mechanism hereinafter described. Theslidab'le member of the clutch is operated through the medium of a yoke39 pivoted at its inner end to arm 40 (Fig. .6) supported by s-1bracket-arm 41 :pro-' jecting from one of the uprights 17, said yokehaving the usual studs 42 42 working in a circumferential groove 43 inthe sl dable clutcl1member. The yoke is provided at its outer end with ahandle 39 and it will be noted that the operating "handles for both theclutch and brake are conveniently located in proximity to each other tobe within easy reach for simultaneous manipulation by the operator orattendant.

Mounted centrally on the sleeve 32 between flange 32 and clutch-member35, and fixed to sald sleeve as by pin 44, is a large ratchet-wheel 45by theoperation of which rotatable motion is imparted to the shaft whenthe clutch is engaged. To operate this ratchet-wheel there are looselymounted on the sleeve to embrace said ratchet-wheel and project inopposite directions beyond the periphery thereof two yoke-arms 46 and47, each having a pivoted pawl, 48 and 49 --respective' ly, engag ng theperipheral teeth of the ratchet-wheel, said pawls being actuated againstthe teeth by springs 50, 51.

'As will be noted (Figs. 4 and 5 thesepawls project in oppositedirections whereby on the movement of the yoke-arms -'simultane =ouslyand correspondmg'ly 1n either horizontal direction one of said paw lswi'll engage a tooth of the ratchet-wheel to rotate the latter while theother pawl will escape over the teeth and that this operation of thepawls will be reversed on movement of the yoke-arms in the otherhorizontal direction; in other words, when the yoke-arms are movedtowards the front end of themachine the pawl carried by the downwardlyprojectingyoke-arm will engage to turn the ratchet wheel while the pawlcarried by the upwardly project ngyokesarm escapes over the teeth, andwhen the yoke-arms-are moved in the opposite direction or towardstherear end of the machine the :upper pawl engages and the lower pawl ridesover the teeth-thus the simultaneous oscillation of the yoke-armstransmits a continuous rotary motion to the ratchet-wheel. In thepresent instance simultaneous oscillation of the yoke arms in the samelongitudinal d rection is imparted by means of a "bellcrank ilever 52,the vertical member of which is connected-by links 53 and 54 to saidyokearms 46 and 47 respectively, and to provide for varying the strokesof the yoke-arms with respect to eachother and to the movement of thebell-crank lever the vertical member of the latter has a series of holes55 .at its front edge with an adjoining series of holes 56 intermediatethe others for a wider range of adjustment and for the con- :nection of.a pull-Jline as hereinafter explained, with an extra hole 55 (Fig. 4')located at the pivot-end of the bell-crank lever for connecting the link54 extending-from the lower yoke-arm so that the latter will be heldsubstantially stationary forthe purpose hereinafter explained. Thisbell-crank lever is pivoted in the supporting frame on .a transverseshaft 57, and in one instance is operated by the piston rod 58 ofcon-ventionaltype of donkey pump engine 59 1) and in another instance bythe pullline 60 of a pumping-engine (not shown) located at a distancefrom the well. lhe connection of the piston rod to the outer end of thelower horizontal member of the bell crank lever is by means of a pin orbolt 58, and the connection of pull-line is by means of clip til whichmay be attached to the vertical member of the bellcrank lever at anydesired distance from the pivot by reason of the vertical series ofholes 56 and 55. hen the pull-line is employed to operate the bell-cranklever the latter is returned after each working stroke or pull of saidpull-line by means of a weight 62 (dotted lines Fig. 1) connected to theupper end of said bell-crank lever by a cable 63 and clip 65, the cablebeing guided in any suitable manner, as for instance over a guidepulley64 supported in the uprights 14; hereinbefore referred to.

One end of the main shaft 25 is squared, as at 25 to receive an ord'narycrank-handle (not shown) for the manual operation of the winding-drum,as for instance in replacing rods, tubes or other parts in the well.

As will be understood the purpose of the machine is to convert areciprocating motion into a rotary motion primarily for ZIP-r plicationto a drum upon which is wound a cable, whereby the drawing or pullingpower of said cable may be utilized for drawing out sucker-rods,tubings, &c., from an oil well, and by reference to Fig. 4: it will beseen that the link connections be tween the bell-crank lever andyoke-arms are such that said yoke-arms move simultaneously in the samelongitudinal d rection (in contradistinction to rotary direc tion)alternately back and forth to practically the same extent therebyimparting a continuous rotary motion to the ratchetwheel and to thewinding-drum when the clutch is engaged, the range of movement of theyoke-arms, or either one, being determined according to the connectionof the links 53 and 54 to the bell-crank lever. On the other hand shouldit be desired to impart an intermittent rotary motion to theratchet-wheel and winding-drum the parts are arranged as shown in Fig.5, wherein the link 53 is connected to the bell-crank lever so that theyokearm 46 and its pawl will provide the working stroke and link 54 isconnected to the bell-crank lever at the pivot-end thereof, through themedium of hole 55, (Fig. 4), so that the yoke-arm 47 will remainpractically stationary and the pawl carried thereby will act to preventbackward rotation of the ratchet-wheel as the other yokearm and its pawlmove backward with respect to the rotation of said ratchet-wheel. Thislatter arrangementto provide an intermittent rotary motionisparticularly applicable. when the bell-crank lever is operated by theoscillating motion of a pull-line in which the power of the engine isappued by pull, and to take up slack on the reverse stroke or motion ofsaid pullline the weight and connect ng cable, hercinbefore described,are employed. However, the weight for taking up slack in the pull-lineor returning the bell-crank lever after each working stroke may besufficient to operate the ratchet-wheel in light work, in which instancethe link connections could be arranged in like manner to that shown inFig. at. Of course by providing the series of holes 55 and 56 in thebell-crank lever the connections of the links between said bell-cranklever and pawl carrying yoke-arms may be varied to impart a greater orless power to the ratchetwheel with respect to the power of the engine,for it is obvious that the length of movement of either link andconnected yoke-arm with respect to the movement of the bell-crank leveris increased or diminished according to the distance from the pivot ofsaid bellcrank lever the link is connected. The operation of theratchet-wheel, either continuously or intermittently, rotates the sleeve32 in one direction and as this sleeve is loose on the main shaft it isnecessary to engage the clutch in order to turn the wind ing-drum whichis fixed to said shaft, consequently the winding or pulling operationmay be stopped at any time by simply disengaging the clutch in whichevent the ratchet-wheel and sleeve will rotate on the shaft and the saidshaft with the windingdrum may be held stationary by operating theband-brake. In like manner the pulling line or cable 12 may be permittedto run out from the winding-drum by disengaging the clutch and thusallow said winding-drum to turn independently of the ratchet-wheel, andin this operation the backward movement of the winding-drum may beretarded to more or less extent dc sired by applying the band-brake; itbeing noted, as hereinbefore stated, that the handles of the clutch andbrake are conveniently located for simultaneous operation by one man.

From the foregoing description of the construction and operation of myimproved pulling machine it will be apparent that it provides a veryconvenient and powerful arrangement for work about an oil well,particularly for pulling sucker-rods. tubings and other parts from thewell, utilizing in the present instance the service of the pumpengine,either the usual donkey pump-engine or the type of engine which operatesa pull-line; in other words the machine is adapted for use with eithertype of engine. Furthermore, it will be noted that the speed of thhoisting cable with respect to the strokes of the donkey pump-engine orpullline may be readily varied or changed to the extent desired bysimply adjusting the link connections between the bell-crank lever andpaw-l carrying yoke-arms. Of course practically the same operation andadjustments may be accomplished even though minor changes may be made inthe construction, arrangement and cooperation of parts constituting themachine, and I therefore desire it to be understood that the appendedclaims shall be interpreted to cover not only the exact machine hereinshown and described but also any obvious modifications within. the scopeof said claims.

I claim 1. A pulling machine comprising a supporting frame, av mainshaft mounted therein, a drum fixed to the shaft and around which drumthe hoisting and lowering cable is Wound, a sleeve loosely mounted onthe shaftand carrying a CllltCl1-111G1TlbGF fixed thereto, aratchet-wheel fixed to the sleeve to rotate therewith, yoke-membersloosely mounted on the sleeve and projecting in opposite directions fromeach other, and spring-actuated pawls carried by the yoke members toengage the teeth of the ratchet- Wheel; together with a clutch memberslid ably connected to the shaft to engage the aforesaid clutch-memberon the sleeve for connecting said sleeve and shaft, and mean-s foroscillating the yoke-arms.

2. A pulling machine comprising a supporting-frame, a main shaft mountedthere in, a drum fixed to the shaft and around which drum the hoistingand lowering cable is wound, a sleeve loosely mounted on the shaft andcarrying a clutch-member fixed thereto, a ratchet-wheel fixed to thesleeve to rotate therewith, yoke members loosely mounted on the sleeveat opposite sides of arms respectively to one member of the bellcranklever.

8. A pulling machine comprising a supporting-frame, a main shaftrotatably mounted therein, a drum fixed on'said shaft and around whichdrum the hoisting and lowering cable is wound, a sleeve loosely mountedon the shaft and having an annular flange at one end and a clutch-memberfixed on the other end with a collar fixed to the shaft and confiningthe sleeve between the winding drum and said collar, a ratchet-- wheelfixed to the sleeve between the flange and clutch-member, yoke-armsloosely mounted on the sleeve to extend vertically in oppositedirections and each carrying a spring-actuated pawl engaging the teethof the ratchet-wheel, and a. slidable clutchmember rotatable with theshaft for engagement with the aforesaid clutch-member on the sleeve torotatably connect the sleeve and shaft; together with a bell-crank leverpivoted at its angle in the supporting frame and having series of holesin the vertical member thereof, links connected at one end to theyokearms respectively and at the other vend to the vertical member ofthe bell-crank lever by means of the aforesaid vertical series-of holes,and. means connected to the bell-crank lever for operating the same froman engine.

FRANK H. HALL.

